New agreement between Russian and North Korea: an alliance that goes beyond military dimension

Translated by Alessandra Fumagalli 

Among last few days’ several news, the most shocking one is Vladimir Putin’s journey towards North Korea. 

An approach that could seem marginal, but that will assume, especially in the future, an important strategic relevance, something controversial to the politics realized by Russia in the last years. Putin’s dimension towards Korea has smoothened since the Russo-Ukraine war started, switching from an opportunist behavior, sometimes extremely strict, as it was noticed by the hostile position towards the nuclear and spatial policy, till an agreement of strategic partnership and mutual defense. 

It is a significant step forward, coming from a geopolitical reality that has changed in the last 2 years, that brought to the approach between two global actors, as it is showed by the agreements met in the last month for the supply of Korean military equipments to the russian ally during the war in Ukraine [1].

The agreement will have important impacts for both parts, starting from the Eastern area, where the implications of a defensive agreement, that goes beyond the one met with China, which does not imply an active military collaboration, could become serious. Moreover, there is an engagement of researching and improving military and civil technologies, like the one related to nuclear. 

A big change that has worried Seul, which is already worried due to the progressive worsening of the relations with North Korea, which is the last weeks have seen military moves, or something worse like the balloons full of waste thrown by Pyongyang beyond the border. 

On the other hand, however, also Russia’s position must be mentioned: with the launch of the 14th pack of European’s sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin, thanks to the strategic alliance with Korea not only did he find an alliance that guarantees a supply in military material, but he also wanted to repeat a model in order to bypass Western countries’ economic sanctions.  

The idea is to develop an alternative paying system, that won’t be under West’s control and won’t be restrictive. It was created through small lending institutions that, in the Chinese case, work in border’s regions and are out of control; therefore they allow not only the movement of substantial financial flows between the two countries, but also of intermediaries working on behalf of Russian companies [2]. 

This phenomenon will be proposed with the North Korean PArtner and will be controlled by European authorities, in order to make the sanctions incisive. 

Mondo Internazionale APS - Riproduzione Riservata ® 2024